Is Cardinals franchise regressing?

NashDishesDimes

Hall of Famer
Joined
Dec 16, 2008
Posts
1,844
Reaction score
564
Is this franchise regressing? It seemed like since Michael took over and the stadium was built that Cards were making headway. Cards have been relatively competitive since then, spent some $$, and hosted a bunch of big time events.

It seems in the last 2-3 years things are really regressing:

-Kyler contract study clause-gate. They should have known this would be a public mockary.
-The facilities/lockerroom survey-gate.
-Cards being way under the cap this year clearly not wanting to spend.
-Burner phone-gate
-Keim dui and then keeping him around despite his inept drafting. I think he was also the lowest, or one of the lowest paid GMs in the league.
-Hassan Reddick and Dhop walk for nothing
-Just now i read they are going to sell a cotton candy burrito at games this season lol. I mean c’mon…just nit the right people in decision making positions. Starts at the top.

Last season was positive in most our eyes despite the record and I think thats all Gannon. Without Gannon this might be a lot uglier. I think hes polishing a turd here.

Thoughts?
 

Krangodnzr

Captain of Team Murray
Joined
Jul 21, 2002
Posts
36,327
Reaction score
34,055
Location
Orange County, CA
Is this franchise regressing? It seemed like since Michael took over and the stadium was built that Cards were making headway. Cards have been relatively competitive since then, spent some $$, and hosted a bunch of big time events.

It seems in the last 2-3 years things are really regressing:

-Kyler contract study clause-gate. They should have known this would be a public mockary.
-The facilities/lockerroom survey-gate.
-Cards being way under the cap this year clearly not wanting to spend.
-Burner phone-gate
-Keim dui and then keeping him around despite his inept drafting. I think he was also the lowest, or one of the lowest paid GMs in the league.
-Hassan Reddick and Dhop walk for nothing
-Just now i read they are going to sell a cotton candy burrito at games this season lol. I mean c’mon…just nit the right people in decision making positions. Starts at the top.

Last season was positive in most our eyes despite the record and I think thats all Gannon. Without Gannon this might be a lot uglier. I think hes polishing a turd here.

Thoughts?
Possibly. I think as Michael has felt more confident as an owner, he has gotten worse.
 

Cheesebeef

ASFN IDOL
Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2003
Posts
90,221
Reaction score
65,349
I’m just really stunned that we’re sitting and sat on so much cap room with such massive holes at the most important part of the Defense, after being awful on D last year.

I wasn’t crazy about not spending money last off-season, but I could see the logic, not knowing when Kyler would be back and trying to see what’s what on the team, evaluating, etc.

But this is a team that isn’t THAT far away if the D is respectable and considering how clean the cap is moving forward, it just doesn’t seem like we’re doing everything we can to start building a winner/winning culture when you’re fine with baby steps. Maybe their last drafts come out like gang busters this year and elevate us to playoff contention, but man… the D could have used some more major additions and we have/had the flexibility and space to make them.
 

Chris_Sanders

Not Always The Best Moderator
Super Moderator
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2002
Posts
38,994
Reaction score
29,062
Location
Scottsdale, Az
Is this franchise regressing? It seemed like since Michael took over and the stadium was built that Cards were making headway. Cards have been relatively competitive since then, spent some $$, and hosted a bunch of big time events.

It seems in the last 2-3 years things are really regressing:

-Kyler contract study clause-gate. They should have known this would be a public mockary.
-The facilities/lockerroom survey-gate.
-Cards being way under the cap this year clearly not wanting to spend.
-Burner phone-gate
-Keim dui and then keeping him around despite his inept drafting. I think he was also the lowest, or one of the lowest paid GMs in the league.
-Hassan Reddick and Dhop walk for nothing
-Just now i read they are going to sell a cotton candy burrito at games this season lol. I mean c’mon…just nit the right people in decision making positions. Starts at the top.

Last season was positive in most our eyes despite the record and I think thats all Gannon. Without Gannon this might be a lot uglier. I think hes polishing a turd here.

Thoughts?

Yes it is. It's why we don't have season tickets anymore.

Michael is a poop show owner.
 

Goodyear Card

Link Guy
Joined
Mar 4, 2006
Posts
2,068
Reaction score
1,638
I don't know if the team is regressing but I have not seen the improvement I expected with a new General Manager and Head Coach. The lack of spending on the salary cap bothers me. We signed a bunch of average journeymen players with holes all over the roster. I was hoping we would sign an impact player on offense and defense. LG would have a great place to sign an impact free agent. I am not as high on the offensive line as most. It is still a major weakness. We don't have a #1CB or even a proven #2. We shall see in one month.
 

Redsz

We do this together
Joined
Jan 21, 2004
Posts
4,727
Reaction score
1,831
Regressing? Dunno. We've moved from being awful to an about .500 ball club over the last decade. But more progress is needed from my perspective.

Alot hinges on how the team performs this year. The perception / narrative has been positive. We will see if that continues.
 

Harry

ASFN Consultant and Senior Writer
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Posts
11,029
Reaction score
23,924
Location
Orlando, FL
Ownership still leaves much to be desired. The pinch pennies is getting tiresome. That said I think good choices were made about populating the front office and coaching staff. I think we’ll see on the field improvement. I’m cautiously optimistic about the coming year if major injuries don’t disrupt it.
 

Proximo

ASFN Icon
Joined
Mar 8, 2015
Posts
12,460
Reaction score
10,285
I'm not sure what you are seeing, but this is the most optimistic I have been about this team in many years.

I really like our coaching staff, and Monti seems to at least be competent as a GM.

The cap situation is good, we have a lot of young players that can hopefully develop.

Kyler is in his prime, we were able to run the ball extremely well last year, we have a stud young TE, and possibly a stud young WR.

To me the only thing to worry about is the defense.
 

slanidrac16

ASFN Icon
Supporting Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2002
Posts
15,204
Reaction score
14,879
Location
Plainfield, Il.
There’s salary cap and there’s operational cost.
I believe Bidwill was paying 3 coaching staffs and 2gm’s. Does the Kingsbury hire in Washington absolve his salary with the Cardinals.
Doesn’t matter. Bidwill ( and Keim) both screwed up the coaches hire and then compounded the problem with Keim and Kingsbury getting a huge raise and extension.
Bidwill is totally responsible for his mismanagement. If you don’t think for one minute he is trying to cut cost for these blunders, you’re crazy. He will save whatever he can on the salary cap by spending the bare minimum.
Keep this in mind when you start blasting MO.
 

Proximo

ASFN Icon
Joined
Mar 8, 2015
Posts
12,460
Reaction score
10,285
What exactly have they fixed?
The Running game, the oline, the coaches, the GM, most importantly Kyler no longer treats the head coach like the clown he was.

If you are at all paying attention the players believe this team is going to win - not like previous years, they actually believe it now and that goes a really long way towards it happening.
 

Dayman

ASFN Addict
Joined
Dec 27, 2008
Posts
5,990
Reaction score
7,438
Location
Portland, Oregon
The vibes around the team are better, but as far as onfield production goes, this is as bad as it's been in quite a while. The last time the Cards had back-to-back seasons with fewer than 5 wins was 1991-1992. Before that you need to go back to 1972-1973!

Obviously, this was all before the schedule expanded to 17 games, too. Their 26 losses in the last 2 years are a franchise record. I'm sure some of those earlier teams would have lost more if the season was longer, but this has still been a whole lot of losing!
 

Cheesebeef

ASFN IDOL
Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2003
Posts
90,221
Reaction score
65,349
You can't fix everything in a year - what they have gotten fixed is pretty impressive to me.
That’s great and all but they’ve had TWO years to try and fix the defense and they’ve done next to nothing to do so except sign a couple journeyman DTs and one solid, cheap ILB.
 

kerouac9

Klowned by Keim
Joined
Feb 14, 2003
Posts
37,984
Reaction score
28,795
Location
Gilbert, AZ
That’s great and all but they’ve had TWO years to try and fix the defense and they’ve done next to nothing to do so except sign a couple journeyman DTs and one solid, cheap ILB.
I'm impatient too, but sometimes waiting for your young group to mature is a plan. These old draft picks like Elijah Jones (CB) and Xavier Thomas (EDGE) will hopefully defray some of the usual risk that comes with draft picks (double-edge sword here -- they come in potentially more ready to play but if they work out you only get two more years of their peak on an extension).

Also, expecting Beej to improve is doing something. Expecting Garrett Williams to improve is doing something.
 

Card'em

All Star
Joined
Apr 14, 2013
Posts
569
Reaction score
1,379
That’s great and all but they’ve had TWO years to try and fix the defense and they’ve done next to nothing to do so except sign a couple journeyman DTs and one solid, cheap ILB.

How can you say that they had TWO years to try to fix the defense when we haven't even played year two yet on the field? Maybe they've made progress and maybe not, but we can't judge year two until we play year two.

Also, you forgot to mention the addition of a first round D-linemen, a second round cornerback, a third round cornerback, a fourth round safety, a fifth round Edge rusher and the free agent signing of Sean Murphy-Bunting.
 
Last edited:

Cheesebeef

ASFN IDOL
Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2003
Posts
90,221
Reaction score
65,349
How can say that they had TWO years to try to fix the defense when we haven't even played year two yet on the field? Maybe they've made progress and maybe not, but we can't judge year two until we play year two.

Also, you forgot to mention the addition of a first round D-linemen, a second round cornerback, a third round cornerback, a fourth round safety, a fifth round Edge rusher and the free agent signing of Sean Murphy-Bunting.
I’ll be happier than a pig in slop to be wrong, but I’ll be stunned if any of those guys make an impact this year. Wasn’t crazy about last year’s draft class outside of Paris and so until they show they know how to draft, I’ll believe it when I see it.

I do expect the offense to be a lot of fun to watch though.
 

kerouac9

Klowned by Keim
Joined
Feb 14, 2003
Posts
37,984
Reaction score
28,795
Location
Gilbert, AZ
Also, you forgot to mention the addition of a first round D-linemen, a second round cornerback, a third round cornerback, a fourth round safety, a fifth round Edge rusher and the free agent signing of Sean Murphy-Bunting.
Expecting anything this year from this defensive draft class past Robinson and Melton will only lead to disappointment
 

Proximo

ASFN Icon
Joined
Mar 8, 2015
Posts
12,460
Reaction score
10,285
The vibes around the team are better, but as far as onfield production goes, this is as bad as it's been in quite a while. The last time the Cards had back-to-back seasons with fewer than 5 wins was 1991-1992. Before that you need to go back to 1972-1973!

Obviously, this was all before the schedule expanded to 17 games, too. Their 26 losses in the last 2 years are a franchise record. I'm sure some of those earlier teams would have lost more if the season was longer, but this has still been a whole lot of losing!
Did you even watch the last 6 games or so from last year?

This is the best bad Cards team we've ever had, meaning they were in every game once Kyler came back.
 

vince56

ASFN Addict
Joined
Sep 15, 2002
Posts
8,988
Reaction score
1,949
Location
Arizona
Last year was the bottom-out year. It put them in position to draft a significant haul of picks in a draft that was deep on offense and not so much on defense. I don’t remember any gangbuster pass rushers coming available in free agency this past spring either, so I’m not sure how they could have done terribly much more this offseason for the defense. But correct me if there was a pass rusher they should have gone after. Reddick maybe?

Now looking at what they did do. They went from worst to average on the DL adding 2 solid free agents and drafted a guy that should contribute significantly. They did the same in the corner room, going from Marco Wilson to Murphy-Bunting and drafting Melton.

The defense is mid at best, but I believe they went from a 30ish ranked defense to a 20ish defense in one off season, while moving the offense into what I believe will be a top 5 offense. This offense has weapons and I think the strongest O line since the Veldheer/Iupati days.

The 30+m in cap room is concerning, but we’re heading into a year I expect 8-9 wins and some exciting football, and then next year’s draft is defense-heavy, which bodes well for 2025 for how this team has been constructed. We have a shot at the playoffs and if/when injuries happen around the NFC who knows what could be if we just win a game or two more than we lose, we could easily be playing in mid January.

I would not be surprised with 7 wins or 11 wins. Anything swaying past that one way or the other I think would be unusual, but we’ll see.
 

Goodyear Card

Link Guy
Joined
Mar 4, 2006
Posts
2,068
Reaction score
1,638
Did you even watch the last 6 games or so from last year?

This is the best bad Cards team we've ever had, meaning they were in every game once Kyler came back.
They may be the best Cards team ever, but they only won 2 games.
 
Top